VALENTINES BALL

[thewatchers]

VALENTINES BALL

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February 14th is a day both famed and notorious for feats of love, passion and confession. And violence, as this year’s theme suggests - a 1920s speakeasy theme, initially based off the Valentines’ Day massacre of 1929 and toned down to be significantly more fun and less a dark reminder of bloodshed. While this year’s event has no predicted surprises like a daemon invasion in store, the Student Council has still chosen to hire extra security for the ball; bulky constructs in surprisingly well-tailored pinstripe suits and hats stand guard outside the entrances to the venue, impassively watching for any signs of trouble.

The ball itself is laid out similar to a 1920s club, with a large space for dancing, a stage for entertainment, and plenty of tables and chairs for sitting, dining, and chatting. Bars on both sides of the room provide a place to order and collect both food and drink, and the second storey of the venue has been put into use to provide quieter and more secluded places to sit.

A. Classy…? Cocktails
As ever, the Academy has provided a lavish and thematic spread of food for the occasion, with a few unique twists to fit the theme. The drinks of are particular note - aside from the usual range of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks that Daybreak provides, many are tailor-made for the ball due to a collaboration between some of the alchemy and culinary classes in Daybreak (who were rather too eager to volunteer). Have you ever wondered what it’s like to drink cake or a steak? You’ll find plenty of experiments here, both savory and sweet, to facilitate that experience.

If that’s not to your tastes, some drinks are purely decorative, providing some unique visual or audio effects - you might find yourself sepia-toned or monochrome, chattering like an old-fashioned radio host or filled with an irrepressible urge to sing everything you say - among other things. Mercifully, everything wears off by the end of the night.

B. Changing Stages
While this ball is by no means illegal, there has at least been an attempt to capture the more ‘forbidden’ aspects of a speakeasy. As the night goes on, switches and buttons appear on the walls, and pressing them will make the room shift and change to reveal secret doors and elevators - partially mechanical tricks, but mostly through clever application of magic and mundane illusion. These exits from the room provide ample opportunity for attendees to stretch their legs and take a walk and a break from the rest of the party through mazelike, glittering hallways and smoke-hazy corridors that lead to balconies and small lounges looking out onto strange, abstract views. Walk far enough, and you might end up in a completely different part of the venue than you were before - though for the truly lost, the corridors will always bring you to someone you can ask for help sooner or later, or guide you out.

Well, eventually. It wouldn’t quite fit the theme of a speakeasy without a little bit of uncertainty, would it?

C. Nyeh, See?
For those who would rather indulge in the darker implications of the theme and have no patience for the other entertainment on offer, this maze of corridors offers one other attraction - enchanted guns and gear for laser tag. In strict adherence to the theme, all guns resemble the kind of weaponry that 1920s gangsters would be boasting - and no matter what you were wearing at the time, as soon as you attach a pendant to your clothing, you're immediately in magically-fitting suits any gangster would envy. They even give off the illusion of bleeding should you be 'shot' by one of these enchanted guns, though to avoid causing undue concern the illusory blood sparkles and shines different colours.

D. Shall We Dance?
No Valentines ball is complete without the opportunity to get close to someone you might enjoy the company of, after all. To fit with the speakeasy theme, music and entertainment has been provided - both stage performances from volunteers and a selection of recorded music from the era. And for those up on the second floor, a station has been provided for whatever you’d like to broadcast to the entire room. Whether you’re up on the stage, down on the dancefloor, or you simply want to set a little mood music for certain people to take a hint, there’s bound to be something to do.

Some of the spirits and other, benign creatures that inhabit Daybreak’s grounds have decided to invite themselves, finding the music and warmth too irresistible to refuse. As a result, masked figures dressed in the vague approximation of 1920s fashion can be spotted among the more solid attendants, and those who don’t have a dance partner might well find themselves being asked to dance regardless - and be given small gifts as a token of gratitude for the indulgence. Or they might just nudge you into dancing with someone new...

E. Wildcard
Anything else you’d want to do at the dance? Feel free to enjoy the night - it’s for everyone to indulge themselves, after all.

code bases by tricklet

Comments

[heromedal]

Rex doesn't really care about this holiday. Love is not bound by time nor space, and especially not an irrelevant positioning of the Earth on its loop around the sun. And he's dealt with enough actual gangsters to find romanticising them to be somewhat distasteful, but not enough to be offended. And unlike Halloween doing the majority of the magical and mechanical work to make the whole thing operate wasn't especially interesting, or challenging. Worst of all the clothing is boring. Rex has always been of the opinion that a suit is basically an attempt to turn a man into a sexless rectangle. He's at least made sure his has the Bulgarian embroidery he's fond of. All in all, Valentine's Day is a bottom tier holiday, not to be used competitively.

However...

The theme happens to incorporate amongst his most favourite musical genres and absolute favourite dance style. He's also incredibly good at it. He's quite clearly going to spend most of the night doing dancing- a lot of it slips back and forth between the 20s and 30s, but it's all the wildly energetic sort of swing that it don't mean a thing if you ain't got. While more than happy to dance alone when the Lindy Hop or similar is appropriate, he offers to dance with or teach others to dance. Student, Faculty, spirit, unusually large and intelligent mustelid, it's fine. He's even sometimes different heights- a spell to shrink to a more appropriate size for a partner is pretty easy for him.

And when music that doesn't fit the theme plays, as it inevitably must, it's like a light switch. His small smile snaps off, Rex slings his jacket over his shoulder and walks away from the floor to people-watch instead.

Of course, this attitude and aptitude makes Rex pretty popular with the spirits around and occasionally ends up with a more friendly version of a past visual. Just a buncha happy spirits all danced out hanging off him as he drinks something boring at the sidelines.

[descolation]

While this holiday may not be Rex's cup of tea, a certain daemon and her octorabbit companion seem to be enjoying themselves. As the music plays Desco and her companion has fun dancing by themselves, with other people, and even alone. Although it isn't long before they get tired of that and begin seeking out some familiar faces. Rex just so happens to be one of the most familiar of faces, so Desco makes her way over to him without delay. She's wearing a suit as well, but it's a more traditional mafiaesque one. Purple suit, with pinstripes and a red rose pinned to the breast of her suit coat. Red tie, purple fedora with a white band, and a small violin case in her hand. Octy has also gotten into the swing of things; a paperboy cap sits on his "head" and a bow tie is wrapped around him.

"Mister Rex, Mister Rex! It's been a while! Desco missed you."

[heromedal]

"Desco!" Rex is in such a good mood he doesn't do the polite thing and ask if Desco wants to be picked up. He just goes for it and gives her a quick spin, smoothly working it into his dance moves. "It's good to see you!"

[descolation]

Desco happily laughs as she is picked up and spun around, returning his energy with a her own in the form of a big hug.

"It's good to see you, too! What have you been up to while Desco was gone? Did you make anything really cool?"

[heromedal]

"Hmmm." It takes Rex a moment to puzzle this out. As he does, he shifts the way he's holding Desco so she can comfortably sit on one big beefy arm. He's been hauling around a sword the size of a small horse all day for a while now, Desco can stay there for as long as she wants. What's hard is working out what counts as 'cool' or especially 'really cool.'

His eventual conclusion is just his latest thing. "Well... I made a human body for a ghost, who is possessing a bat. He pilots it from the skull. Is that cool?"

[descolation]

She will gladly sit atop his arm for a while. There's a big grin plastered on her face as she rocks side to side on the beefiest of arms, letting her feet sway forward and back. No harm in patiently waiting, though you'd have to be a fool to assume she's going to sit still as she does so.

When he speaks up, her eyes go especially wide and...it's almost like there's a big golden star in each of them.

"That's like ultra cool! How are you so cool, Mister Rex?"

[unpocoloco]

This is a terrible idea. He's not sure what he's actually doing. He just knows that he's already sunken low enough, what could happen? How bad could it be?

With wide eyes and a guitar on his back, he seeks his torturer out. He's not hard to find, but he doesn't want to interrupt anything else and it turns out. Rex is quite fond of dancing. When, finally, Rex moves off to the side, he joins him.

It feels like his heart is racing. He knows it's perfectly still. Nevertheless, he manages to look almost calm save for the tight grip he has on that guitar strap.

"You dance well," He comments.

[heromedal]

Rex holds still when spoken to and stares silently for a while, largely unemotional on the surface of it all.

After holding his breath for a while he just asks "Do you want me to leave?"

[unpocoloco]

The silence is unnerving. The blank expression more so. He really, really doesn't like that blank look.

"No," He blurts it out, then shakes his head. "No, of course not, you're a student, this dance is for you, it's not my... if this was about that I could just leave myself." He's fumbling this already. Hardly surprising, he didn't even go in with a half-baked plan. This is all raw stupid.

"Just commenting that you dance well. Not many know those dances these days."

[heromedal]

He can't help it, it's a very confusing time.

There's more awkward silence as Rex attempts to work out the trick here, before eventually leaving it- "I like music. So. I dance."

It's all he can think to say and looks like an idiot.

[unpocoloco]

Music. The memory flicker through his head, Rex's music playing loud as incision after incision--

He shudders, shakes himself out, and forces himself to take a breath. Steady. It's fine.

"...Rather fond of music myself. Do- do you have a favorite?"

[heromedal]

"Uhm. Not really." It's a difficult question for Rex, because he listens to music 24/7 with no genre being elevated above another. He can't afford to play favourites or he'd run out of songs. "I mean, it's all a reflection of a human's desires. Even the most manufactured sort has its charms- there's something to appreciate it any piece of music."

Though after a moment he adds- "I do like covers that change the genre of a song. It's fascinating."

[unpocoloco]

It's a nice answer. It's spoken in Rex's dull tone with slightly clinical and detached terms, but at the heart of it, it's a good answer. He bobs his head a little.

And he manages just the slightest, hesitant smile at the addition.

"Oh yeah? Like, say, heavy metal played acoustic on a Spanish guitar by any chance?"

Can he offer that? He could play it sure, but can he play it with Rex around?